A TESTED FAITH! ~ CookingFood.Org

“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”

Saturday, 15^th October 2016,

Twenty Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Eph 1: 15-23;

Ps 8: 2-7;

Lk 12: 8-12.

A TESTED FAITH!

Strength and ability are proved by tests than mere certificates. This is also true of our faith. Not many will stand the test of faith. Jesus knows it and therefore he wants to give a clear lesson in the Gospel. His conditions with terms like ‘if’, ‘but’, present him serious minded. He is not speaking in parables. He is demanding an unshaken trust in God and a strong conviction in following Him in all circumstances.

To acknowledge oneself as a Christian in certain countries means certain death. In other places, it may mean persecution or denial of opportunities or promotion. Thus acknowledging Christ can threaten our personal safety, our economic security and significance. But Jesus insists that if we want to be acknowledged in heaven before the holy angels as true sons and daughters of God, we have better confessed that fact before the world, even in the face of persecution and execution.

The Church exalts the saints for this reason. Their glory is an outcome of heroism in their Christian life. St. Teresa of Avila whose feast we celebrate today is a stalwart in this regard. A woman of extraordinary faith, she battled against all odds of her times to bring about the much desired reform in the Carmelite order. Prayer life was her chief weapon; for the rest of the story Jesus who said “do not worry about how to defend yourself or what to say” always stood by her.

Prayer: “Let nothing disturb you. All things are passing. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Nothing is wanting to him who possesses God. God alone suffices” Amen.